


oh but she loves like sleep to the freezing

by brookethenerd



Category: Girl Meets World
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, basically riley bein there for her boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-11-02 19:35:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10951293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/brookethenerd/pseuds/brookethenerd
Summary: Lucas' Pappy Joe dies, and Riley is there to comfort him





	oh but she loves like sleep to the freezing

Lucas doesn’t show up to school. Usually, when he’s sick, he texts the group chat and lets them know he isn’t coming.

But not today. Today, his spot in their classes together is vacant, and Riley can tell that Farkle knows something. She knows that something is wrong. She can see it in the way Farkle carries himself, in the way his shoulders droop and he doesn’t engage the rest of them in conversation during lunch.

Even Smackle notices, though figuring out emotions isn’t her strong suit. Still, she can see that he’s upset, and though no one knows quite what to do, Smackle holds onto his hand for the entire lunch period.

Once lunch ends, Riley corners Farkle in the hallway on the way to their next class.

“Lucas isn’t here, and something is wrong, and you know what it is.” She accuses.

Normally, Farkle would go on the defensive, his eyes going wide, excuses slipping from his lips in an attempt to keep whatever secret Lucas told him just that: secret.

But today, he just seems tired.

“Riley-“

“Tell me.”

“Riley, I can’t-“

“You have to tell me. If something’s wrong, you have to tell me. Is he really sick? Why didn’t he tell us that he wasn’t going to be here? If something is wrong, I-“

“It’s his Pappy Joe,” Farkle says, caving a lot quicker than Riley expected. Her brows furrow, any further remarks dropping from her tongue, replaced by shock.

“What?”

Farkle lets out a sigh, averting his gaze.

“His Pappy Joe died last night.”

“What? How? Where’s Lucas? Is he okay? Did he go back to Texas? He-“

“He’s at home,” Farkle says, only answering part of her question.

“He’s at home?”

Farkle nods, squeezing his books tighter against his chest.

“Zay is going over after school to check on him. His parents flew back last night, but Lucas wouldn’t go. The funeral isn’t for a few days, so he doesn’t have to go out there until then. I guess he just couldn’t be around it.”

“He’s alone?” Riley asks, heart splitting in two. Farkle nods again.

Riley presses her lips together and holds out her books to Farkle, who takes them with a frown. Her mind is made up.

“I’m not gonna be in class the rest of the day.” She says, not an ounce of uncertainty in her tone.

“What? Riley, you can’t just ditch-“

“Lucas shouldn’t be alone right now. I’m going to go be with him.”

“Riley-“

Riley doesn’t stay to hear the rest of his protest. She’s already heading down the hallway, her metro card in her hand.

* * *

 

She doesn’tknock; she simply pulls the spare key from under the mat and lets herself in. Part of her knows that Lucas wouldn’t open the door for her if she did knock or ring the bell; she knows he’s isolating.

Riley knows that game all too well; it’s one she’s tried to play a few times. And every time her friends were there to force her walls down. She’s going to do the same for Lucas. She’s going to do whatever she can.

She makes her way through the familiar apartment until she reaches Lucas’ door. She takes a breath, gathers her strength, and steps inside.

What she finds curled up in the bed is not the boy she knows. He is not smiling or standing tall. He is broken and raw and bleeding pain.

Riley carefully makes her way over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it.

Lucas’ eyes open at the sinking of the mattress, gaze sliding to her and settling on her face. His lips part and he squeezes his eyes back shut, tightening his grip on the pillow.

“Lucas.” She says softly, because she doesn’t know what else to say. She doesn’t know if there’s anything she _could_ say.

Because she knows how much his Pappy Joe meant to him. She knows that Lucas grew up with him, that so much of who Lucas is was learned from him, that he loved him with every piece of his heart. She knows that a loss like this hurts; a loss like this comes fast and hits hard. It’s heartbreak in a way no one realizes exists until they’re staring it in the face.

“I didn’t get to say goodbye,” Lucas says, opening his eyes. Riley reaches out tentatively, hand settling on Lucas’ shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, Lucas.”

He doesn’t reply, lips pulling thin as a tear slips from his eye and trails down his cheek. Riley reaches out and brushes it away with her thumb, letting her hand rest on his cheek. He leans into her touch, but his body is still stiff with sadness.

There is nothing she can do to take his pain or sadness away. And that’s the hardest part. Because it is the worst thing in the world to love someone and not be able to help them.

The only thing she can do is be there for him.

“Do you want me to stay?” She asks. Lucas nods and shifts over in the bed, making room for her.

Riley slides in beside him, tugging the covers up over the two of them.

Lucas doesn’t hesitate to move closer to her and bury his face in her chest. Her arms wind around him, and though Lucas is bigger than her in every way, she seems to encompass him right now. She is the protector, the one that keeps him safe.

Riley Matthews has always been full of words. She always has things to say; she always has stories to tell.

But not today. Today, she just wants her boy to stop hurting, and there are no words or stories that can do that.

Riley ducks her head, pressing her lips to Lucas’ forehead.

“It’s going to stop hurting. Every day it’ll hurt less and less until it doesn’t hurt at all. And you’ll just be happy when you think of him.” She says against his skin, because she can’t help but try.

“When?” Lucas asks, voice resembling that of a child’s.

Riley shakes her head, shifting back as Lucas tilts his head up to look at her.

“I don’t know. But I know it’ll happen.”

“How?”

“Because I believe. Because I know things get better.”

Lucas closes his eyes, his grip on Riley’s shirt relaxing.

“I believe you.” He says, because he always has.

She gives his forehead another kiss before sliding her hand to the back of his head, tucking it against her, creating a cocoon around him with the blankets and her body, giving him a safe place to land.

“Get some sleep.”

“You’ll stay?” He asks. Riley nods.

“Always.”

And maybe it’s the exhaustion or the pain or just the fact that Riley is there, but Lucas falls asleep, and he stays that way for a long time, curled against Riley, safe and warm and loved.


End file.
